Intel ups the ante with bets on social gaming

By Denny Carter

October 22nd, 2010

Intel appears to be on a determined, if not somewhat puzzling, spending spree, the New York Times reports. In August the company acquired McAfee, the security software vendor, for nearly $8 billion. Then, the company bought the unit of Infineon that makes the wireless chips used in laptops and smartphones such as the iPhone. On Oct. 21, the investment arm of the company, called Intel Capital, said it is making an investment in OpenFeint, a mobile gaming platform that lets developers add social-networking features, like real-time chat, to their applications. Lisa Lambert, vice president of Intel Capital, said the company was looking to “to build software ecosystems around our platforms. That is a huge part of our strategy over all.”

Denny Carter

Dennis has covered higher education technology since April 2008, having interviewed some of the most recognized IT pros in U.S. colleges and universities. He is always updating eCampus News with the latest in pressing ed-tech issues, such as the growing i